It also depends where you work and what your ambition is. Not all academics work in US top-ranked institutions. Personally, I'm tenured and I work very little.

It also depends where you work and what your ambition is. Not all academics work in US top-ranked institutions. Personally, I'm tenured and I work very little. I don't do much research anymore. I teach about 10 hours a week, which amounts to 20-30 hours of effective work (including grading, various meetings, administrative work). Besides that, I try to keep up to date with the latest developments that pertain to the subjects I teach. I also try to switch topics regularly so I keep learning new things. I attend research talks and follow my colleagues research. Because I don't do research, I can't expect any promotion and I feel a bit like an outsider. If I was to do meaningful research, then I would have to neglect some of the teaching, and work much more. I'm not entirely happy with this situation, but it's the best compromise I found. EDIT: my office mate has a research-only position with almost no administrative overhead. He's not overworked, supervises a couple of phd students and postdoc, and is reasonably well-known in his field. Just to say that depending on the institution, country and personal ambitions, working conditions can differ greatly.